what do you do about exercise for guinea pigs in this kind of weather?

[emkana]

Do you let them run around inside? If so, where? How? Or do you put them in an outside run regardless?

Our indoor Guineas are let out every evening and have the run of the kitchen.Doesnt take long to sweep up any mess and run the mop over inbetween.

mine mostly stay in their cages but get a run round in the kitchen or on the landing once a day or once every two days. tbh the girls just go and hide under the nearest chair. they're a bit crap at exercising indoors. can't wait til the garden's dry enough to stick them out on the grass for a bit during the day though

My piggy is inside but becoming very lazy so I keep turfing her out of her house and plonking her at the other end of the living room so she has to scuttle about a bit to get back again. Sometimes she comes out on her own accord and has a mad 5 mins dashing around.

err. ahem. How do you get your GP's to take any kind of exercise? If I let mine out, he just sits there. If he is anywhere near his cage (like, about 5 inches away from the door), he sits there, looking wistfully at the door but won't climb in.

Any suggestions would be very gratefully received!

I have been a bit worried about ours. I usually put them out in the run every day, but this weather has just been too cold. We bring them into the house in the evening and they do tend to stay in one place happy to be fed, although they have got a little more adventurous lately.

We used to have an old rug (given to us by a neighbour who was getting rid - try a local second hand furniture shop/carpet shop for offcuts/tip staff to keep an eye out) and we put this down on the kitchen or living room floor, then the run on top, so it didn't matter if they weed on the floor. Poos aren't really a problem anyway because they are all pellety and go hard really quickly.

I can't remember where we kept the rug, because it must have been a bit smelly

You let your guinea pig loose in a room with a cat, then watch the little bastard run.

I have an indoor run for them. It is a wooden triangular outdoor run and I stand it on a piece of lino. I put them in it for a few hours most days and put Chubes and boxes in for them to play amongst.

Have got quite a small run (3ft6ish square) and set it up in play room, on newspaper with loads of hay and a little igloo.

Did this for a few weeks and found the newspaper wasn't really protecting the carpet so will have to get some vinyl I think!

Ours don't do much running about anyway.

lol @ summersoon, mine is the same! I thought I had the only lazy GP in the world, her idea of exercise is chewing her greens a bit faster

My son plonks the two of them down in opposite corners of the kitchen and times how long it takes them to find each other. Boy GP gets frantic and rushes around squeaking urgently. Girl GP tends to stroll under the nearest cupboard and ignore him, quite possibly tutting to herself as she does so.

@ MrsL123:

yup, exactly

He will, however, put his front paws up on the bars of his cage, squeaking anxiously, if he thinks we are being a bit slow washing his greens....

My DD has also taught him to briefly stand on his hind legs to take lettuce - but he will only do this for lettuce and fresh melon rind, not for carrots